Be a Hero!

Bungie fans, we're asking you to step up, "Be a Hero," and help us help Haiti.

At 4:53pm on Tuesday, January 12th, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake swept through the Republic of Haiti and shook the nation to its knees. We’ve watched in shock, horror, and sadness as men, women, and children scramble amidst the rubble looking for friends, family, and loved-ones. We struggle to make sense of it and can’t help but feel helpless as we witness their struggle for survival from afar. Sadly, the situation is only getting worse.

For some of us, this is a grim reminder of our own tragedies. We hear echoes of the ocean spilling into the streets of New Orleans. We recall broken buildings slipping away from our skylines, falling into dust. And as shattered families in Haiti begin their own relief and rescue effort, we are reminded that the divide between our nations and our peoples is not so wide, that we are not so different, and that we are not so helpless.

We can do something. We can make a difference. But we can’t do it alone. We’re calling on the Bungie community. We’re asking for your help.

BE A HERO!

Right now, in the Bungie Store, you’ll find a special edition of our Superintendent tee. Pick one up and we’ll donate 100% of our profits directly to the relief efforts through the American Red Cross.

BUY BUNGIE SWAG, HELP OTHERS!

In addition to the special shirt, from now until the end of February, we will be donating all of Bungie's profits from the Bungie Store directly to the American Red Cross. If you had your eye on a sweet Bungie hoodie or bag, there’s never been a better time to buy than now since that money will go right to supporting a great cause. Please note that this really only applies to Bungie apparel and accessories in our online store – if you wanted to add an HD TV or Xbox 360 game to your cart at checkout, Bungie doesn’t actually see any real proceeds from those 3rd party items.

PLAY HALO & WE'LL DONATE $77,000!

So, you want to help but don’t have a way to get one of our shirts or make a monetary donation? Not to worry, we’ve got you covered with the easiest possible way to be a hero – playing Halo!

We are rallying our fan community to show their support by playing Halo 3 or ODST online next Wednesday or Thursday while wearing a special emblem signifying your commitment to the cause. For every thousand heroes that participate, we will make a $100 donation on behalf of Bungie and our fan community to the Red Cross for Haiti relief efforts, up to a maximum of $77,000. All you have to do is don a special emblem and play a game online and know that you’ve done a small part to help those in need.

Please mark your calendars and help spread the word!

Here are the specifics:

1. Round up all of your friends and hop online with Halo 3 or ODST any time next from 00:01AM PST Wednesday, 1/20, through 23:59PM PST Thursday 1/21.

3. Once your emblem is set, play! This can be a custom game or a matchmaking game, just make sure it’s played online, on Xbox LIVE, or we can’t track it.

If you keep playing more games through midnight on Thursday, KEEP THE HEART EMBLEM ENABLED or you may not get counted.

We’ve got our hearts on and we’re looking for a fourth. Will you join our cause on Xbox LIVE? (for screenshot example purposes we’re on system link, your network needs to be “Xbox LIVE” though!)

But wait, there’s more! We want to see your screenshots and hear the stories about your experiences. Take screenshots from your games and tag them on Bungie.net with “HERO” so we can capture the moment. We’ll go through and find screens we like and send some of you the special “Be a Hero!” Superintendent t-shirts we’re offering at the Bungie Store as a small token of our gratitude for your support.

DO YOUR PART!

These are but three small ways you and your friends can do your part to lend a hand to those in need. If you would simply like to make a cash donation, we urge you to visit the American Red Cross website, or any other charitable organization you’re comfortable with, and do just that. For more information about various charities, check out http://www.charitynavigator.org/.

Thanks For Playing!

In light of these recent events, there will be no update on Halo: Reach's development this week. No poorly wrought prose or corny jokes. No Blame Stosh. It just doesn't feel right. I’ll make it up to you in the future. I promise.

For now, we ask that you focus on spreading the word to all reaches of the community. In 2005, we asked for your charity in our “Fight the Flood” campaign to help fund relief efforts in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina and we were floored by the overwhelming outpouring of charity and support you put on display. Let’s do it again.